


return again

by bukkunkun



Series: secondary typing [6]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: (technically lmao), Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Animal Abuse, Anime/Video Game Fusion, Backstory, Childhood Friends, Disabled Character, Experimentation, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Headcanon, Kid Fic, Kidnapping, Love Confessions, M/M, Muteness, Not Beta Read, Prequel, Rescue Missions, Sign Language, Teen Romance, Worldbuilding, anyway leon is 7 years old, because the entire secondary typeverse is a massive exercise in worldbuilding, red and blue when more mature than their stupid 10 year old selves are good with children, why is there no de-aging tag wtf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29062800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: It has been a very,verylong time since Blue Oak saw Red, and absence only ever makes the heart grow fonder, they said.A look at the first few years of Leon's life, and how he met his beloved best friend.
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Dande no Lizardon | Leon's Charizard, Dande | Leon & Red, Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red
Series: secondary typing [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619305
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	return again

**Author's Note:**

> > red, defying god (arceus): is blessed by a legendary made by man
>> 
>> — 🌟 bukkun 🌟 (@trickscd) [December 26, 2020](https://twitter.com/trickscd/status/1342838979335319552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> red, spitting in arceus's eye
> 
> anyway!! red is totally mute, but not deaf. he communicates via sign language, but for people who are not familiar with sign language, he carries around a little phone/device thing to type in. blue learned sign language alongside red as little boys, and hasn't forgotten it ever since. isn't that sweet ^ q ^ 
> 
> ANYWAY i think i mentioned AGES ago that red (champion) was involved in how leon got his charmander, so here it is. ^ q ^ warnings for the usual team rocket bs!

Blue didn’t know the reason why Red said yes. He hardly ever did his Champion duties these days, and he was frankly quite surprised to see his old rival again after disappearing for so long. He stared at the mute teen as he looked over the tablet Lance handed them, unsure of what to say.

Arceus, it’d been so long. What the _hell_ was he supposed to say?

How was Johto? Where’d you disappear off to these past five years? Do you know how much I’ve missed—

Blue shook his head, sitting up straighter as he leaned back against the wall of the carrier with a deep sigh. Red didn’t seem to mind him, but did look up when Lance emerged from the cockpit, a serious expression on his face. 

“Have you finished reading the briefing?” He asked, and Red nodded. “That’s good.”

Red handed him the tablet when Lance offered his hand for it, and Blue watched as the redhead hummed, looking it over. “The Wild Area in Galar is massive. We’ll need to split up, so please be careful, the both of you.” He nodded at Blue, who gave him a lazy salute. “I will be with Lorelei, and we’ll cover the southern side. Blue, you’re with Red.”

“You got it.” Blue said lazily. Unlike Red, he’d been on and off with joining Lance in his G-Men endeavours, all while getting through Pokémon School and handling the Viridian Gym. He was graduating next year, and he was slowly figuring things out.

Red… well, no one knew what Red was thinking. After he became Champion, he’d disappeared, reappearing in _Johto,_ of all places. Over the years, Blue saw less and less of him thanks to his busy schedule, and the rare times he did get to see Red, he was back at home to hand Professor Oak a new completed Johto Pokedex. He disappeared again after that, but Blue knew he was still out there, thanks to the stories he’d heard about a mysterious, legendary champion trainer that wandered the regions. 

And now, he was here again. After years of separation.

Blue didn’t think much of the phrase ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’, but he had enough sense to admit that he had drifted apart from Red in the years that went by. Now, both at 17 years old, Blue felt like he was looking at a completely different person, and yet felt like he knew this handsome stranger across him as if he’d never left. 

Red raised his hand, but Lance couldn’t see him, still reading his tablet. 

“Lance.” Blue said, and the redhead looked at him. Red met his gaze, and began to sign. Blue sighed in resignation, and translated for Lance. “ _The drop points might make us visible to the camps if we arrived in the middle of the Wild Area. Us setting up will give Team Rocket time to disperse._ ”

Blue blinked at Red. Huh. He’d never thought of it that way. Red’s eyes looked tired, yet so resolute, and Blue realised that in all those years, there was no way Giovanni’s reach did not follow him. 

The man had a vendetta against Red for dismantling his Kanto operation, but that was all Blue really knew. He didn’t know what kind of relationship Red had with Giovanni, but when Red saw Blue become the Viridian Gym Leader, he wore a smile that told Blue more than anything he could ever say. (Or sign, he supposed.)

“That’s a good point.” Lance frowned. “I suppose we’ll have to land somewhere far away first.” He squinted down at his tablet. “I have contacts in the Gym in Hammerlocke at the northern side of the Wild Area. We can land there, get a temporary setup, and then proceed into the Wild Area.” He frowned, scrolling through the screens. “Lorelei and I will then have to circle around to Motostoke by train to enter the southern side, but it’s a simple trip.” 

“That’s good.” Blue nodded, and Red held his hand up again. Blue nodded for him to start, and Red began to sign. “ _No flying types. We can’t get seen from above, they have eyes on the sky. If you can, ground types are our best option._ ”

“Ground types?” Blue blinked, and Lance finally looked up from his tablet, cocking his eyebrow at Blue. 

“Why are you so unsure of what you’re saying?” He asked, and Blue shook his head, running his hand through his hair. 

“I was,” he gestured at Red, and Lance turned to see him raising his hand again. “I was translating Red’s signing, since you couldn’t be assed to look up.”

Lance, at least, had the decency to look ashamed. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Champion.”

Red shook his head, and signed, “ _It’s okay._ ”

“He said it’s okay.” Blue said, when Lance continued to stare at Red, and the man nodded, sighing exasperatedly. “Good thing I’m saddled with this guy, huh?” 

“I am… grateful, yes.” Lance said, and gave Red an apologetic nod. “Forgive me, it’s been a while. I will touch up on my sign language so you don’t have to worry about translators.”

“ _It’s fine if Blue’s always with me._ ” Red signed, and Blue gaped at him. Lance looked at Blue expectantly, and Blue shook his head wildly. 

“He says thanks for being considerate.” He lied, making a face at Red when Lance turned away from him, and Red gave him a gentle little smile while Lance gave Red a bow. Blue threw Red a rude gesture, and signed aggressively, “ _Don’t embarrass me!_ ”

Red laughed silently into his hand, and Lance huffed, shaking his head. 

“I suppose I’ll have to tell the pilot to change course.” He nodded. “Thank you for letting us know. Please explain why Ground-types are important to infiltrate them later.” Lance swept his cape behind him, and strode back into the cockpit. Blue looked at Red witheringly as the other teen yawned, and stretched. 

“Don’t you go all casual on me now.” Blue grumbled, and Red gave him a sheepish little grin. “You didn’t seem to have problems when you were traipsing around Johto.”

“ _I had a few problems, actually._ ” Red replied. “ _For starters, I couldn’t really tell the Team Rocket grunts that they were under arrest when I was travelling._ ”

“You… you were _what?_ ” Blue blinked, and Red shrugged. “You went after them?”

“ _They were in the way._ ” Red clarified, and looked down at the ground. “ _I’m sorry I’d been away for so long._ ”

Blue blinked at his oldest rival. He thought _he_ would have to be the one to start bringing this up, but Red looked at him eagerly. Blue felt his cheeks burn, and he tore his gaze away from Red, belatedly realising that there was no way his rival (uh, _friend?_ ) was going to communicate with him if he wasn’t looking.

“ _Now_ you’re bringing this up?” Blue spat, and jumped when Red unbuckled himself from his seat, striding across the carrier plane to stand in front of Blue. “Wh—get back in your seat! What if the plane tips over?” Blue stammered, and like he said, the plane tipped slightly, making Red fall forward to lean over Blue, hand braced against the wall. 

Blue felt his heart shoot to his throat as Red looked down at him, their eyes locking on each other. The other teen pulled away from him when the plane righted itself up, and Blue felt oddly bereft as Red straightened up.

“ _Don’t look away from me._ ” He signed, just as Lance came striding back into the hangar, blinking at the two of them. 

“I…” Blue panted, unsure why he was suddenly so breathless as Red went back to his seat, buckling himself in. “Wh…”

“Did something happen?” Lance asked, and Red raised an eyebrow at him, the bastard, expecting him to _say something._

“N-nothing.” Blue stammered, and Red grinned slightly. Blue couldn’t exactly do what he wanted—which was to throw Red another rude gesture—and instead resolved to stay quiet as Lance shook his head. 

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with the mission.” He said, and Red gave him a thumbs-up. Lance sighed, nodding as he settled down next to Blue. “Now, could you explain why Ground-types are a better option to use?”

Red nodded, and began to sign as Blue translated him.

“ _Team Rocket tends to look up at the sky for any intruders. Whenever I ran into them in Kanto or Johto I came after them with my Charizard, so they’ve eventually learned to look up, instead of down._ ” He grinned slightly, and Lance and Blue gaped at him. 

“All this time, you’ve been encountering Team Rocket in Johto?” Lance asked, and Red nodded. 

“He said they were in his way.” Blue said, and Red nodded.

“ _On my journey to become stronger, I’ve had Team Rocket grunts come after me._ ” He signed. “ _They’re so used to me in the sky that they’re more wary of what’s above them than below them. At some point, a Dugtrio had broken into their camp and helped its Diglett escape._ ”

“I see.” Lance frowned. “An underground attack may be more advantageous, then?”

“Seems it.” Blue nodded. “But we gotta find that camp first.” 

Red nodded, and continued to sign. “ _Actually, I’m pretty sure they’ve moved out of the Wild Area now._ ” The other two blinked at him in bewilderment. “ _Team Rocket prefers to steal Pokémon, not catch them. If the Wild Area is a protected sanctuary as you say, they wouldn’t be able to steal any tame Pokémon there._ ”

“Wait, why would they prefer to take from Trainers?” Blue asked.

“ _Because they’ve already been tamed._ ” Red signed, and there was a sharpness in his expression that made Blue shudder involuntarily. Just _what_ had Red _seen_ in his travels?

“I see.” Lance hummed. “Well, if that’s what you know, then we’ll reconsider the plan.” He finally smiled, and nodded at Red. “It’s good to have you onboard, Champion.”

Red gave him a little grin, and Lance went back into the cockpit. Red and Blue looked at each other, and Red sighed, leaning back against the wall. 

“ _I’ve seen things._ ” He signed, and Blue deflated at that. “ _That’s why I came back._ ”

“You want to put a stop to Team Rocket?” Blue asked, and Red nodded. 

“ _Among other things._ ” Red gave him a pointed look, and _shit,_ Blue’s cheeks were red again.

“Weirdo.” Blue mumbled, shaking his head, and Red laughed silently again. Blue rolled his eyes, and pulled out his Pokedex out of his pocket. “I’ve actually got a Ground-type on me, Rhydon.”

Red nodded. “ _Charizard knows Dig._ ”

“What the _hell_ kind of Charizard do you have on you?” Blue gaped at him, and Red gave him a grin. He shook his head, huffing. “So, where do you think Team Rocket would be?” 

Red took a deep breath, looking thoughtful as he considered for a moment, and replied, “ _Near the Pokémon Professor._ ”

“Huh?” Blue asked. “Why?”

“ _Lots of newbie trainers in that area._ ” Red signed, and Blue’s eyes widened.

“Easy pickings.” He breathed, just as Lance peered back in. “Mr. Lance.”

“We’ll be making our landing in Hammerlocke.” He announced. “From there, I’ll talk to the Duke and the two of you should head off to where you think Team Rocket’s run off to.”

“Near the Pokémon Professor.” Blue said, and Lance cocked his eyebrow at him. Red nodded in agreement. “Red said they’d take easy pickings first.” 

“Oh, I see.” Lance hummed. “We can ask where the Pokémon Professor lives, too.”

“Thanks.” Blue nodded. 

“Get ready,” Lance said, “We’ll be landing soon.”

* * *

Red, Blue and Lance met up with Lorelei in front of a _massive_ castle with an entrance in the shape of a dragon’s maw. The redheads quickly caught each other up on the changes to the plan, and Blue watched as Red looked up at the sky, his eyes sparkling with wonder as Pokémon flew overhead.

“You really love Pokémon, don’t you?” Blue huffed, looking up to see that Red had been watching a Flygon flying around the spires of Hammerlocke Castle. “Oh, wow. That’s a Flygon.”

“ _I’ve never seen a Flygon before._ ” Red signed, misspelling the Flygon’s species name as “Flaigone”, and Blue laughed. “ _What’s so funny?_ ” Red grinned. 

“Flygon.” Blue spelled the name, and Red nodded in understanding. “Ground/Dragon type. Didn’t think it’d hang out in a place like this.”

“The Duke that owns the castle has a partner Flygon.” Lance said, and Red and Blue turned to see Lorelei already walking into the castle. “That might be his.” Lance gestured for the two teens to follow him. “We should get going.”

“R-right.” Blue nodded, and together, Red and Blue strode into the castle after the adults. 

It was surprising to find out that Lance knew a _Duke,_ and was _good friends_ with him, but when a little boy—around 10 or 11 years old—ran over to cling to Lance’s leg, they understood why Lance was so welcome in the castle. 

“Yes. I was hoping for your cooperation, Duke Galahad.”

“Well.” The Duke of Hammerlocke was a very tall man, towering over Lance, with draconic blue eyes and blond hair. He hummed, considering Lance for a moment, and Blue wondered if the little boy clinging to Lance’s leg was even the Duke’s son at all. “I suppose my Cereus may be of help.”

“It would be much appreciated.” Lorelei said, and Blue finally noticed the small, dark-skinned woman standing next to the Duke of Hammerlocke. The little boy bore a striking resemblance to her, and Blue realised she would have to be the Duke’s wife. 

“Still, Ground-types?” The woman frowned, and her Sylveon meowed in curiosity. “Oh, Titania, not you. I suppose Cereus is a good pick, yes.”

“Cereus would be a wonderful ally.” Lance nodded. 

“Cereus is a Flygon, yes?” Lorelei asked, and the Duke nodded. 

“I shall allow Lance to borrow him for the time being.” He gave Lance a smile. “I trust you’ll handle him well.”

“Lance, you’re leaving?” The boy asked, and Lance laughed, reaching down to pat the boy’s head. “ _Noo,_ you just got here!”

“Raihan loves you very much.” The Duchess giggled, and Lorelei smirked at Lance, whose cheeks were turning red.

Red and Blue looked at each other in surprise. _That_ was a first. 

“When the situation has blown over, we’d be happy to have you all over for dinner sometime.” She offered, and Lance gave her a sheepish smile.

“That would be wonderful.” He said, and looked over at Red and Blue. He gestured to the two teens, and the Duke and Duchess of Hammerlocke looked at them. “Your Grace, I’d like to introduce a previous and current Champion of Kanto. They’re the ones accompanying us on our mission.”

“I’m Blue.” Blue introduced himself, holding his hand out for the Duke to shake, and the man nodded, shaking his hand. Red offered his hand too, and the Duke shook his hand. “This is Champion Red.” 

“Champion Red.” Duke Galahad echoed. “I’ve heard of you.”

“A lot of people have, apparently.” Blue said dryly, and the man gave him a little knowing grin. The brunet shook his head, and looked over at Lance, who gave him a nod. “Could I ask where Galar’s Pokémon Professor is?” 

“Ah, yes. Lance has told us about this.” Duke Galahad nodded. “I would suggest that you find her at Wedgehurst. The train to the right of Hammerlocke should be able to take you right there.”

“Thanks.” Blue gave him a bow, and Red followed his example. “We’ll head out right away.”

“Stay safe.” Lance said, and Blue gave him a mock salute. 

“You got it.” He jerked his head at Red. “Let’s go.” He turned and strode away, and Red looked at him exasperatedly. He looked at the Duke, and first gave him a respectful bow before hurrying away after his friend.

* * *

If you were to ask Leon of Postwick what he thought about the rule that children should be 10 before becoming a trainer, he’d tell you it was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. 

He’d been herding Wooloo since he could carry a shepherd’s crook on his own (about a year ago). He can _absolutely_ take care of a Pokémon! And something more exotic than Wooloo, surely!

Leon sulked by himself in the field behind their tiny house, watching as the Wooloo grazed lazily on the fresh green grass. He pouted, thinking about the pair of Pokémon trainers he saw on Route 1, battling a Skwovet that one of them eventually caught. Leon scoffed. _He_ could do that, no problem! All it took was throwing a Pokéball at a wild Pokémon after it was weakened, right? It should be a no-brainer.

Leon peered at a rock by his feet, and huffed to himself. He picked it up, though with some difficulty, as the rock was surprisingly heavy. Still, it looked roughly the same size as a Pokéball, and was perfectly round and pretty. 

He inspected it carefully. “Looks like an… Everstone?” He ventured to no one in particular, as he remembered Sonia and her grandma talking about stones the other day. “I _think_ that’s what this is…” Leon nodded to himself, straightening up and holding the rock in front of him, pointing it at the Wooloo he was watching. “I choose you!” He huffed, and dissolved into laughter as he sat down on the grass. All the Wooloo did was to look at him with mild interest, but not much else, sedately coming back to graze. Leon sighed, dropping onto his back in the grass as he looked up at the sky. 

“I can’t wait to be a trainer…” He mumbled, setting the stone down to reach up towards the sky, looking at the back of his hand. “Just a few more years…” Leon peered at the sundrops between his fingers, and clenched his hand as his expression tightened. “A few more years, and I’ll be able to join the Gym Challenge, first with the Minor League.” 

He lowered his hand, settling down to use his hands as a pillow behind his head as he watched the clouds go by. 

“I wonder what my first partner will be.” Leon sighed, shutting his eyes with a grin, and the three Galarian starter Pokémon appeared in his mind. 

“A Scorbunny?” he asked, and the Scorbunny in his mind cooed happily, kicking up lines of fire with its feet.

“A Sobble?” The Sobble jumped into a river, shooting forward against the current. 

“Or a Grookey!” Leon breathed, grinning as the Grookey pulled out the stick from above its head to hammer out a thrilling beat against a tree—

“Char!” A scream jolted Leon into alertness, and he shot upright, looking around in panic just in time to see a little orange Pokémon running towards the Wooloo herd. Leon’s eyes widened, and he hurried up onto his feet, grabbing hold of the little Pokémon—and being careful of the lit flame on its tail—to keep it from heading to the Wooloo. 

“Wh-what?” He gasped, looking down at the unfamiliar Pokémon. “What’re… what’re you?” He breathed, but then jumped when he heard someone yelling from beyond the field. 

“Find that Charmander!” A man barked, “We can’t let that little thing escape, it’s reserved for the Boss!”

“Char… mander?” Leon blinked, and looked down at the Pokémon in his arms. It looked pleadingly up at him, and realisation sank in. “Oh! You’re a Charmander!”

It buried its face into Leon’s chest, and Leon’s expression tightened. He hugged the Charmander close, tucking it into his denim jacket as he looked around. 

“I better hide you.” He said, and he looked around, panicked. He lit up when he saw his family’s singular Dubwool grazing near him, and he waved him over. “Cottons! C’mere!” 

The Dubwool trotted towards him obediently, and Leon gave him a pet between his horns. “Cottons, we need to hide! Could you let us in?” He asked, and the Dubwool nodded, standing still as Leon huddled under his fluff, being careful not to let the Charmander’s tail touch his wool. “We gotta call for help, Cottons. Let’s get Ma.”

The Dubwool bleated in agreement, and began to slowly walk towards Leon’s house, which was currently a small building in the distance. At that moment, Leon regretted his abysmal sense of direction—his walks with the Wooloo always took him so far away from home, were it not for Brie, Professor Magnolia’s Boltund, whom he borrowed sometimes when he went on walks with the herd. Today, Brie was with her trainer, and Leon wished he had her with him right now. He could hear the clamour of violence coming closer, and Leon’s breaths grew shallow with fear. 

“No, please, no…” He said quietly, hugging the Charmander close. The little Pokémon whimpered, too, hugging Leon back as his tail fire flickered. “Please look away, please look away…”

“Boss, there’s nothin’ but Wooloo here.” Leon gasped, and he and Cottons stopped abruptly when they heard a voice far too close to be comfortable. The voice sounded like it was right at the fence that bordered Leon’s family’s grazing grounds, and Leon swallowed nervously, feeling his eyes prickling with tears as he hushed his Charmander friend quietly. 

“Nah, I saw it come runnin’ this way.” The first gruff voice said, and Leon held his breath. “Break this damn fence down. We’re going in there.”

“What about the Wooloo, boss?” 

“You know what?” The man chuckled, “We’ll take the lot.”

Leon’s eyes widened. The Wooloo were all his family had. If they were gone too, then—

Then his mum would be so very sad. His grandparents, too, and—and Leon would never be able to become a trainer. 

An explosion shook the area, and Leon could hear the fence shattering. He jumped in surprise, and the Wooloo began to bleat in panic, rushing around Cottons and Leon as they all hurried to the leader of their herd. 

Leon untangled himself from Cottons, taking a sharp breath, and he looked at where the explosion came from. Three men in black clothes and a red R on their chests stood at the broken fence, and he gasped in shock. Even repairing the fence would no doubt hurt their savings, he thought, but he immediately regretted it when the three men turned to look at him. 

“And there’s a little shepherd!” The boss of the three leered. “Well, this really is gonna be as easy as taking candy from a baby!”

Leon bit his lip, feeling his eyes well with tears. He _knew_ he couldn’t do anything—he had no Pokémon of his own, he knew the basics of battle, but not the actual _act_ of it. He had nothing going for him, but he knew if he didn’t do _something,_ he would never forgive himself. 

Gently, he set the Charmander down, under all of Cottons’s fluff, and hurried out in front of his Wooloo herd. 

“I-I won’t let you take them!” He shouted. “They’re for my family! We’d be nothing without them!”

“I don’t care, little boy!” The man snapped, “Get the Wooloo!” He ordered, but Leon jumped when a bold dart of orange shot out from underneath the Wooloo. Leon’s eyes widened to see the Charmander stance up in front of him, and he lit up. 

“Charmander!” He gasped. 

“It’s the Charmander!” One of the men gasped. 

“Get it!” The leader ordered, and Leon braced himself. 

“I hope this works!” He said, thrusting his hand out at the men hurrying towards them. “Use Ember!”

The Charmander spat out a burst of fire at the men, and it managed to land on one of them. He shrieked, and quickly dropped himself to the ground, rolling around as he tried to put himself out. 

“That’s it!” Leon nodded eagerly. “Let’s go! Another Ember!”

The Charmander threw another blast of fire at the other grunt, forcing him to drop down. Leon glowered at the last man, and nodded. 

“Now leave us alone!” He shouted, “Charmander, c’mon!”

The Charmander opened his maw, and a blast of thick, black smoke emerged. Leon’s eyes widened as it completely covered the grunts, and the Charmander looked at him expectantly. 

“Right!” Leon nodded, and ushered the Wooloo on. “Everyone, back to the barn!”

The Wooloo all ran away towards Leon’s house, Cottons taking up the rear as he ushered the Wooloo on in Leon’s place.

“Thank you, Cottons!” Leon called, but then squeaked in alarm when he was suddenly picked up by his collar. He squirmed in the man’s grip, kicking ineffectively at him. “Hey! Lemme go!”

“Not a chance, boy.” The man spat. “You think you can act all heroic like that? Think again.”

“No, _you_ think again!” A voice called from above them, and Leon gasped as the man dropped him unceremoniously, shouting in panic. Leon wasted no time wondering who the newcomer was—hurrying forward to grab the Charmander, and sprinted away as fast as he could. “Use Air Slash!”

Leon felt someone land on the ground behind him as he ran, and he turned to see an unfamiliar teen in a black shirt and skinny jeans. His eyes widened as a large, bird-like Pokémon flapped its wings powerfully, knocking the men back. 

“A Pokémon trainer!” Leon gasped, and his eyes sparkled in awe when a large, orange Pokémon landed in front of him, too, and another teen—in a wrinkled white t-shirt, jeans, and a red baseball cap—climbed off it, completely silent. 

The large Pokémon looked like the Charmander he was holding, Leon realised. Maybe that was Charmander’s final evolution. 

“Team Rocket.” The teen in the black shirt snarled. “We thought we smelled a Ratatta den.”

“It’s Champion Red!” One of the grunts stammered. “The boss is promoting any grunt into admin for that kid!”

Leon gaped up at the teen that stood between him and the men—Team Rocket, whatever _that_ was—protectively, and he held the Charmander closer to his chest. The teen in the baseball cap met his Pokémon’s gaze, and Leon gasped in awe as the Pokémon charged forward, covering itself in flames.

“Outta the way!” One of the grunts yelled, “Flare Blitz!” 

“Flare Blitz…” Leon breathed, and looked at the teen. “And he didn’t say a word…”

The Charmander in his arms squirmed insistently, and Leon let out a soft hiss when one of his little claws scratched his arm, making the boy drop him. The teen in the black shirt jumped, and whirled around to look at him. 

“Kid—” he began, and he shook his head, turning to his companion. “Red, I’ll leave these idiots to you.”

Leon paused. Red. Why did that name sound familiar? 

Red nodded, and Leon still continued to stare at him as the other teen picked Leon up, albeit with some difficulty. 

“C’mon, let’s get you out of here.” He said, and Leon shook his head. 

“They were after this lil’ guy!” Leon said, pointing at the Charmander, who was staring at Red’s Pokémon as it continued to attack the Team Rocket grunts, all without Red ever saying a word. “I-I’ve never seen a Pokémon like that before in Galar!”

“Must’ve been smuggled in.” The teen frowned, shaking his head. “It’s okay, we’ll take it from here, kid.”

“Wait!” Leon struggled in the teen’s grip, and he winced, struggling to keep Leon in his arms. “I wanna—the little guy—”

“It’s gonna be okay,” The teen said, gritting his teeth, and Red peered at them, cocking his head. He signed something to the other teen, and Leon realised why he wasn’t talking at all—he was mute. 

He realised where he’d heard Red’s name before—on the telly, his mother had been watching a documentary about a mute child that had taken down a large, Kantonian mafia at the tender age of 10. That had been a long time ago, and if Leon did his math right, then that boy would have been about 17 by now—about the right age for the teen standing in front of him.

“No, I’m fine. Kid’s worried about the Charmander.” The teen said, and Red nodded at Leon encouragingly. He signed something again, and Leon at least recognised a small word he’d spelled out—Blue. “Yeah, yeah.” The teen huffed, “Listen to your Big Brother Blue here for five freakin’ seconds…”

So the other teen’s name was Blue. 

The Charmander jumped up and down, and Blue huffed in exasperation, bending down to usher the Charmander closer to himself and Leon. 

“You too, little Charmander.” He said, “You can gape at Red’s Charizard later.”

Leon looked at the Pokémon attacking the grunts. “Charizard…” He breathed. “Will Charmander be like that too?”

“Someday, yeah.” Blue nodded, straightening up when the Charmander made it to his side. “Okay, c’mon, we’re going to that house over there, where hopefully, you’ll be—”

Something suddenly slammed into them, cutting Blue off in the middle of his sentence. Leon screamed as Blue suddenly threw him off to the side, and the little Charmander hurried over to him, crying out in worry. Blue let out a shout of pain, dropping to the ground, and Red whirled around to see him wrapped up in a poacher’s net, waves of stunning electricity coursing through his body while one of the Team Rocket grunts—the leader of the little trio that attacked Leon—smirked at them. 

“Get the Pidgeot!” he barked, and Red whirled around to see Blue’s Pidgeot also getting hit by the net. His expression tightened, his hand balling into a fist as the grunts quickly regrouped, leering at Red as they hauled Blue and his Pidgeot along. “Don’t you make any sudden movements now, Champion Red.” The leader drawled, yanking the now-unconscious Blue up by his collar. “Or the boyo gets it.”

Red grit his teeth, his fists beginning to tremble in rage as Leon struggled to his feet. His little Charmander friend hurried up to him, whining sadly as Leon picked him up, hugging him close to his chest protectively. 

“Got nothin’ to say?” The grunt shook his head. “And here I thought you’d beg more for your little bestie.”

“He’s _mute,_ ya daft buttwipe!” Leon snapped, and the grunts blinked at him. Red nodded, gesturing at the little boy. “He _can’t_ talk!” 

“Oh.” One of the subordinate grunts looked at his fellow grunt. “Makes you wonder if them legendary blessings are all that, eh? Wouldn’t Mewtwo have fixed that or—”

“Shut it!” the leader growled, “Red! Find us in Postwick’s Pirate Cove. You can ask the little brat there for help, if you wanna save this boyo.” He leered, and tossed Blue at his struggling Pidgeot in the back of their open truck. The Pidgeot caught his trainer as best as he could, and cawed angrily at the Team Rocket grunts as they shut the door on them. “You, for the boy,” He glowered at Leon, “And the Charmander for the bird.”

Red’s Charizard snapped at him angrily, and the men laughed, hurrying into the van and driving away, leaving Red and Leon behind in a cloud of smoke. The Charizard flapped his wings powerfully, blowing the smoke away, and Red sighed deeply, shaking his head. He looked down at Leon, and bit his lip. 

“We gotta go save him.” Leon said, and the teen raised an eyebrow at him sceptically. “Yes, _we!_ I wanna help too!”

Red shook his head, and began signing, when he realised Leon couldn’t understand him. He frowned, and he patted Leon’s head instead. 

“What, I’m too little?” Leon huffed, “I’m 7! I can take them on!”

Red looked at him flatly, and Leon shook his head.

“No! I _want_ to fight! They broke into my family’s field, too, and they wanted to take this lil’ guy!” He held up the Charmander, who nodded determinedly as Leon put him down. “Blue said that he was smuggled in. That means he was taken here secretly, right?”

Red blinked at him, and he looked at his Charizard, who purred softly, nudging his trainer’s cheek. 

“I’m sure that means he has friends, too. I want to make sure they’re gonna be okay.” Leon huffed, “If you’re not gon’ take me, I’ll—I’ll save Blue myself!” 

Red peered at his Charizard, and the Pokémon gave him a flat look, as if raising an eyebrow. The teen sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head as he patted Leon’s head again, and pulled out a phone from his pocket. He typed something out on it quickly, and Leon stood there, frowning as best as he could as he waited for the teen to finish, and he showed Leon what he wrote.

_I’m not saying that you’re too young to fight. I saw what you did for your family’s herd._

Leon’s eyes widened as Red took his phone back to type again.

_I need your help. Blue and I came here to save Pokémon just like your Charmander from Team Rocket._

“Team Rocket?” Leon echoed, and Red typed a new message.

_They’re a group of bad people that steal other people’s Pokémon. In Galar, they smuggle non-native Pokémon for money, too._

“No way!” Leon gasped. “We have to save the Pokémon!”

_Yes. I believe your Charmander escaped from them to ask for help._ Red smiled at Leon, and the boy’s eyes widened. _I can see that it really believes you’ll be able to help its friends, too._

“Oh!” Leon breathed. “Then… you’ll let me come with you?”

_Of course. I’ll need all the help I can get._

Red gave him a wry grin, and Leon lit up. 

_Just stay behind me, and stay safe. Don’t do anything reckless._

“Got it.” Leon nodded, though he didn’t know what ‘reckless’ meant. “I’m Leon, by the way! Nice to meet you, Red!”

Red gave him a little smile, and ruffled his hair in greeting. He typed something on his phone, and Leon cocked his head, waiting for him to finish.

_First, we tell your parents where you’ve been, and what’s happening. I’m guessing that your house is over there?_

Red pointed at Leon’s house in the distance, where the Wooloo had gathered. He could barely see his mother’s purple hair as she stood in the middle of the bleating, panicked crowd, and he jumped. 

“Ma!” He gasped, and Red nodded, straightening up. He patted his Charizard’s neck gently, and put him inside his Pokéball. He looked back at Leon, and the boy nodded, hurrying up to his side and taking Red’s hand. The teen looked surprised, but Leon didn’t mind, striding towards his house. 

They walked in companionable silence, but Leon couldn’t help but notice the way Red looked—like he couldn’t seem to relax. His hand was clenching and relaxing around Leon’s, and there was a nervous flick in his eyes that told Leon there was more to this whole operation than saving the other Pokémon Team Rocket had with them. He thought about Blue, about the way the teen protected Leon from getting caught up in the net, and he thought back to how Red looked when Blue was captured.

The look of sheer _terror_ on his face, like the world was about to end, was something Leon couldn’t ever forget. Red knew _something_ about Team Rocket, something about how _horrible_ they could be, and he was _terrified_ for Blue and his Pidgeot.

Leon looked down at the ground, and sighed deeply.

“I feel bad about Blue, too.” He said, and Red blinked at him in surprise. “I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault he got taken away.”

Red shook his head, and patted Leon’s head again. Leon gave him a sad little smile, and sighed.

“I’m sorry I can’t understand you.” He said, and Red shrugged, smiling dryly. “But Blue can understand you?”

Red nodded, and Leon smiled. “Then he must like you a lot.” He said, and Red laughed silently, his cheeks turning pink. Leon blinked at him, and he shook his head. “No? But… you like him a lot, don’t you?”

Red jumped, and this time his cheeks were red. Luckily, he was spared from Leon’s questioning when they arrived at his house. His mother jumped, rushing through the little herd of Wooloo to drop down onto her knees, pulling her son into her arms with a relieved sigh, and Leon hugged her back.

“Oh, Leon!” She sighed, and she looked him over, cupping his face in her hands before she smoothed them over his hair, checking for any injuries. “I was so worried about you—I heard an explosion, and I… oh!” His mother looked up at Red, who gave her a polite little nod. “Is that—are you—”

“This is Champion Red!” Leon chirped, and her eyes widened. 

“Oh, Champion Red!” She gasped, and got up onto her feet. “I’ve—I’ve heard about you. My—my name is Daisy. Thank you so much for keeping my son safe.”

Red nodded, but his expression quickly turned serious. Leon tugged on her hand, and Daisy looked back down at him to realise he was holding a Charmander in his arms. 

“What’s—what’s that?”

“Ma, Champion Red and I saved this Pokémon—it’s a Charmander!” Leon said, “But we’re in big trouble, Champion Red’s best friend Blue got taken by a bunch of bad guys!”

“We should call Officer Jenny.” Daisy said, and Red shook his head.

“There’s no time! They’re in the Pirate Cove, you know where that is, right?” Leon asked.

“The riverside cave near the Slumbering Weald?” Daisy blinked at the two boys. “Why would—well, I definitely heard some machines doing digging work in there, but I never thought it’d be a hideout for ruffians…” 

Red nodded, squeezing Leon’s hand, and the boy looked at his mother eagerly.

“Red and I are gonna go!” He said, “We gotta make sure this Charmander’s friends and all the other Pokémon these bad guys have taken are okay!” Leon felt Red’s hand trembling in his, and he nodded to himself. “And we need to save Blue, too!”

“W-well, I’ll still make sure to call the authorities,” Daisy said, “But if it’s alright, I suppose…” She looked at her son worriedly, and Red thumped his chest lightly with his fist. Daisy’s eyes widened at him, and her expression softened up. “Only if you promise you’ll keep my son safe, Champion Red.”

Red nodded firmly, and Daisy sighed. 

“Okay.” She said, and turned to Leon. “You stay very careful, okay? Make sure you stay with Red at all times. I don’t want you to get hurt. At the first sign of danger, you run, do you understand?”

“Yea!” Leon nodded eagerly. “I’ll be alright, Ma!” 

“Well then.” Daisy smiled at Red weakly. “Follow this road further southward, and you’ll come to an empty house, and a crossroads. The barred-off road leads into the Slumbering Weald, while the other road leads to a river. You’ll find the Pirate Cove a little further on, you might need a flying-type Pokémon.”

Red nodded again, giving her a thumbs-up. Daisy sighed, pressing a hand to her heart.

“Take care, boys.” She said, and she gave them a wave as they strode away. Leon looked up at Red, whose gaze had sharpened into a frightening point as he strode forward in a determined charge down the road. Leon couldn’t help but smile up at him, and he looked down at the Charmander he carried one-armed in his jacket. 

He wondered if after all this, he would be allowed to take care of the Charmander. 

He’d just thought of the best name for him, after all.

* * *

Blue woke up to the sensation of being poked at. He groaned softly, raising his head to see his Pidgeot leaning over him, his wing draped over him protectively. 

“Squall?” He mumbled, sitting up slowly, and he leaned against his Pidgeot’s warmth. “Where… am I?” Blue blinked blearily in the darkness of the cold, damp cave he was in, and he shivered. He jumped when he felt a bug-like creature skittering up his leg, and Blue held his scream in when he saw a little red worm-like Pokémon snuggling against his neck. He blinked when he realised that the Pokémon was warming him up, and he sighed happily as he wrapped it around his neck like a muffler. “Oh, thanks…”

He looked further into the darkness, and his eyes widened when he saw a large group of Pokémon—some of them were unfamiliar, despite his studies on Pokémon in the Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova regions, and Blue realised that it was a collection of all sorts of Pokémon from different regions. His eyes widened, and he shuffled closer to his Pidgeot when he heard footsteps beyond him. Blue turned around to realise he was in a cage, too, along with his Pidgeot, who stood in front of the bars protectively, keeping the smaller Pokémon away from the bars. 

“Yo, is the kid awake?” He heard a voice ask. 

“I dunno. Wasn’t he a Champion of Kanto too?” 

“Yeah, but he like, went down super fast.”

“Idiot, he had a kid on him. You’re lucky he was distracted, or he’d have wiped your ass on the ground.” 

Blue grinned at that a little, and Squall preened in pride, too.

“Still, that Champion Red’s taking a while, isn’t he?” 

Blue stiffened at that, and Squall’s prideful preening stopped abruptly.

Was Red… not coming? The crawling sensation up Blue’s throat didn’t feel like fear—

It felt like disappointment. 

When had he begun expecting that Red would save him? He’d been in situations like this before—he could handle shit like this, he’s done it before, Squall was _right there,_ but why now, why _now,_ of all times, did Blue wish that Red, for once, would be there, when he turned around to find him? 

He curled up on himself, wincing as he thought of their past. Not that Blue had the right to complain about that, though—in their first journey, he hardly gave Red the time to catch up with him. Every time they found each other, Blue always had to antagonise him, always with the knee-jerk insults every time Red managed to defeat him, always running away after every battle to grimace and whine about his loss at a Pokémon Centre far away from where he’d run into Red. 

Maybe that was why Red disappeared for so long after that, he thought. Maybe after finally overtaking Blue, he’d had enough of running after him. Maybe this was just how Red wanted to be, from now on, not caught up in some wannabe’s shadow, eating dust. He wanted to be out there, on the wings of his Charizard, wild and free, in the loving embrace of nature and the Pokémon of the world around them.

It was what Red _deserved,_ definitely. By all means, he deserved the world. His love for his team made him take on the biggest threat of Kanto, his love brought him to Johto to continue chasing after them. 

Blue had never really learned the meaning of love. Not quite the way Red seemed to understand it, like as if the teen could talk to the voice of the world itself. 

Though, if Blue was to be honest, he wouldn’t be surprised if Red _could_ indeed do that.

The grunts had been talking about Red and a Pokémon called Mewtwo. Blue had only fleetingly heard of it—a super-powerful artificial Pokémon supposedly created from Mew, a Legendary Pokémon, with the power of a god, or so they had said. Blue had never been particularly religious—Kanto and Johto did have a history of worship, to Lugia and Ho-Oh, though—but even _he’d_ heard of Arceus, of the mythology of the creation of all life. Mew had been the origin of all species, and while some regarded it close to the Pokémon gods, Blue had always thought of it as a primordial organism, closer to mortals of life than any god, if they _did_ exist. 

If this Mewtwo was from Mew, then it was just like them, too. Nothing legendary about it. 

And yet, Blue seemed to understand what the grunts meant. Whatever Mew or Mewtwo were, they were powerful Pokémon, and mysterious creatures as they were, they must have some ability more amazing than humans could comprehend. If Mewtwo had touched Red’s life, then _maybe_ there was a reason to his old friend’s seemingly timeless wisdom.

Blue shook his head. It was either that, or he was trying to justify something he’d denied long ago. 

As little children, Blue had been the one doing all the talking, and Red had been the one listening. His grandfather had said long ago that Blue was lacking heart, that was why he lost his Championship title so quickly, and Blue couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of that.

If he’d listened. If he’d watched Red, as they grew older.

If he’d just _listened_ to a soundless voice full of love, would he have heard it?

“Wait, what?” Blue gasped. When did _love_ come into this?

“Did you hear that?” One of the grunts hissed, and Blue slapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes going wide as Squall squawked in exasperation. He covered Blue with his wings, and suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. Blue shouted in alarm, clinging to Squall as he protectively held the little worm Pokémon close to his chest.

“What the—” Blue began, but then the sound of rumbling earth grew into a shuddering explosion. His Pidgeot braced himself over Blue, and Blue’s eyes widened when he heard the sound of wings beating. He pulled away from Squall, who cawed at him in shock, and hurried to the bars to grip them tightly. 

“Red?” He gasped, and his eyes prickled when he saw a Charizard charge out of a hole in the ground, two figures on his back. 

Red leapt off the back of his Charizard, and Blue’s eyes widened to see the little boy they were with jump off too, Red catching him before putting him on the ground. 

“Red!” Blue called, and the teen’s eyes locked on him. Blue’s breath caught in his throat as their eyes met, and for a moment the world slowed down as Red’s intense, fierce expression softened into unbridled, warm _relief._

“ _Red._ ”

“I _knew_ you’d come!” The leader of the grunts cawed, “Alright, everyone! Get him!” 

Blue’s eyes widened as a whole gaggle of Pokémon pounced at Red. 

“Red!” He screamed, reaching out from the cage bars. “ _Red!_ ”

* * *

Leon ducked low, just as Red asked him to, and his eyes widened at the sheer multitude of Pokémon that came rushing out towards Red. Still, the teen looked confident, and as if on cue, his Charizard came spinning in, flapping his wings powerfully, throwing all the Pokémon back. Red looked at Leon, and the boy nodded, patting the Charmander in his jacket.

“Go! Use Smokescreen!” He called, setting it down on the ground, and the Charmander opened its maw to let loose a thick cloud of black smoke. Leon coughed gently, wincing as he covered his nose and mouth with his jacket sleeve, and he nodded encouragingly at the Charmander when it looked at him worriedly. “I’m fine! Keep going!”

He could hear the sound of Red’s Charizard attacking the Team Rocket grunts, and Leon realised that Red was _not_ having battles.

He was here to _fight._

Leon swallowed nervously. He wondered what Team Rocket did that was so terrible to merit this, but he didn’t waste more time dwelling on it—he had to save Pokémon, and Red was counting on him to do that. He patted the Charmander’s head, nodding.

“That’s enough, let’s go!” 

He crouched down low, underneath the thick smoke the Charmander made, and Leon realised why Red asked him to help—he was the only person who could. Small as he was, he would be able to make his way under the Smokescreen without much trouble, and Leon grinned, his eyes lighting up brightly as he and the Charmander made their way to the back of the lair, where he could see Blue and his Pidgeot rounding up the Pokémon in a cage they were in.

“Blue!” Leon hissed, and the teen whirled around, looking at him with wide eyes. “Hi!” He greeted brightly, “I’m Leon! Me and Red are here to help!”

“ _Red_ brought you here?” Blue hissed, “What the _hell_ is he thinking, I—” He shook his head, huffing exasperatedly. “Fine. Could you help us out?” He asked, and Leon nodded eagerly. 

“Charmander, use Ember!” Leon said, pointing at the cage bars, and Blue blinked. 

“You’d think he’d use Scratch…” He mumbled, but then his eyes widened when he realised that the Charmander was making the metal weaker with heat. Blue grinned slightly, and nodded to himself. This kid would make a pretty good trainer, he thought.

“Now, use Scratch!” Leon nodded, and the Charmander slashed at the hole, causing two poles of the cage to come loose. Blue and Leon lit up, and Blue turned to the Pokémon behind him.

“Go! Get outta here!” He called, “Move under the Smokescreen, so they can’t see you!” The Pokémon began to hurry through the gap in the cage bars, following Blue’s instructions. Leon beamed at them, nodding eagerly as he looked at his Charmander.

“Let’s keep going!” He said, and Blue nodded, making himself busy with helping smaller and slow-moving Pokémon out of the cage as Leon made the opening wider. 

“That’s it, kid!” Blue nodded, and turned to Squall. “C’mon, we’d better help Red—”

The sound of clamour suddenly stopped, and Leon’s eyes widened as the leader of the Team Rocket grunts cackled. Blue’s heart shot to his throat, and he patted his Pidgeot’s chest. 

“Blow away the smoke.” He said, and Leon jumped, looking up at him in alarm as the Pidgeot flapped his wings powerfully, revealing several Team Rocket grunts on the ground, unconscious and with their fainted Pokémon, and a few of the freed Pokémon stuck at the cave mouth, trapped behind a set of cage bars that came up to block off the entrance. Leon’s eyes widened in shock when they saw the leader of the grunts holding a beat-up looking Red by the scruff of his shirt. His Charizard was caught in a poacher’s net on the ground—luckily, not paralysed—snarling and squirming as three Team Rocket grunts held him down.

“Red!” Blue gasped, and the man thrust the limp teen at them. 

“Hold it in, boy.” He sneered, “Don’t want your bestie hurt, don’t you?” 

Leon saw Blue’s expression tighten, and reluctantly, he held his hand out to his Pidgeot, holding him back. The bird Pokémon cawed in protest, but Blue shook his head.

“We can’t… we can’t let Red get hurt.”

“That’s right.” The grunt drawled. “Be a good boy, Blue Oak. Shoulda just stuck to your textbooks like the snot-nosed little brat you are.”

Blue’s hand balled into fists, and Leon bit his lip. He looked at the grunt, who leered at him. 

“You. Give me the little Pokémon, if you know what’s good for you. Maybe I’ll even consider not hurting Champion Red.”

“Bastard.” Blue hissed, and he looked down at Leon. “Leon, I’m sorry.” He said tightly, and the boy hugged the Charmander a little closer to himself.

Leon looked down at his new friend, and his eyes widened when it looked at him determinedly. 

_Tell me what to do, Leon._ It seemed like it was saying, and Leon felt his eyes prickling when an idea came to mind.

“I trust you,” He whispered to the Charmander, and pressed their foreheads together. “Please.”

The Charmander purred softly, and Leon reluctantly put it on the ground. The Charmander began to walk toward the grunt uneasily, and the man nodded, chuckling darkly.

“Good Pokémon.” He said, and Leon took a shaky breath.

“Hey, while we’re here,” he said, and the grunt glowered at him. “What—what do you want with Red?”

“What, this kid?” The man shook Red, and Blue drew a sharp breath, his hands balling into tight fists. “The boss said there’s somethin’ special about him. Something like… a legendary blessing, or whatever. Apparently the Legendary we made in the lab took a liking to this brat, and he’s made him amazing at battling, or something.”

“That can’t be true.” Blue shook his head, and the grunt pursed his lips, looking at Blue, and Leon took a shaky breath, peering at his Charmander friend as he walked up to the man. “Red’s always been amazing at battling. With or without this Mewtwo.”

Leon lit up when he saw a little smile cross Red’s lips. He was okay!

“Psh, whatever.” The grunt rolled his eyes. “The boss wants him in our possession to experiment on his ass about this legendary blessing. I’m just here for the admin promotion this is gonna bag me.”

“Experiment?” Blue hissed. “You _monsters._ ”

Leon saw his Charmander stand behind the man, and their eyes met. Leon held his breath, and he nodded. 

“Now, Charmander!” He shouted, and the little Pokémon let out a cry, his tail glowing with blue flames as he slammed it into the backs of the man’s knees. 

“ _Dragon Tail?_ ” Blue gasped incredulously, as the grunt screamed, dropping Red onto the ground. Leon jumped, hurrying forward to catch him as he fell, and Blue shook his head. “Squall, use Whirlwind!”

The Pidgeot let out a cry, flapping his wings _hard,_ throwing off the Team Rocket grunts holding down Red’s Charizard. The Charizard roared, throwing off the poacher’s net, and Red struggled to his feet. 

He nodded at his Charizard, and the Pokémon threw a blast of fire from his maw at the bars blocking the exit. The metal melted away, and the Pokémon ran free as Blue could see a large squadron of people approaching the cave. 

He grinned, and turned to the grunts in the cave. 

“It’s over.” He said, and the grunts deflated in defeat. 

“International Police!” A man in a beige trench coat shouted, holding up a badge as he hurried into the cave. A Flygon came shooting out from a hole in the ground, hissing threateningly, but then seemed to calm down quickly enough. The detective looked confused for a moment, blinking at the empty cages, the downed Team Rocket grunts, and the two Champions in the cave. 

Red held Leon close to himself, squeezing the boy’s shoulder, and Leon lit up when his Charmander friend hurried up to him, leaping into his arms. He hugged him tightly, sighing in relief, as a redhead man in a cloak strode in after the detective, sighing exasperatedly. 

He scratched the Flygon under its chin, and looked at Red and Blue flatly. 

“We’ve talked about this.” He deadpanned, and Blue and Red refused to meet his gaze. “Look at how beat up Red is. How am I going to explain that to his mother?”

“Sorry.” Blue mumbled. 

The detective didn’t seem to mind, though, smiling fondly as he tucked his badge back into his coat inner pockets. 

“Well, they managed to sort it out, Mr. Lance, all’s well that ends well?” He asked, and the redhead shook his head exasperatedly. 

“Detective Looker, you are not the one responsible for these two if anything happened to them.” Lance deadpanned, and the man laughed sheepishly, shrugging. “Seriously. I needed to borrow Duke Galahad’s Flygon, and for what? You two were supposed to call for backup first.” 

Armed men hurried into the cave, and Red held Leon closer to himself when the boy whimpered in alarm. They got to work on restraining the Team Rocket grunts, putting Pokémon back into Pokéballs and tucking them gently into a bag. Lance raised an eyebrow at Leon, who was clinging to Red, and he pointed at him.

“Why is a little child here?” He asked, “Did he get taken?”

“N-no,” Blue shook his head. “I did.”

Lance blinked at him, wide-eyed, and Leon peered at him worriedly. 

“Please don’t get mad at him.” He said softly, and Lance pursed his lips, turning to look at Leon with surprise. “I—I was—I was just… um…”

Red looked at Blue, who turned to meet his gaze. Red gave him a nod, and Blue bit his lip, and nodded back.

“The Charmander Leon is carrying was literally the reason why we found this hideout.” Blue said, and Lance turned back to look at him. “It, uh…” Blue looked at Red, and he felt his cheeks burn when the teen gave him a knowing smile and a confident nod as he let Leon go gently, patting his shoulder before he began to sign. “ _It ran away from this Team Rocket base to look for someone to help it. And it found Leon._ ”

Lance looked at Red, who nodded at him encouragingly. 

“ _Leon protected it from Team Rocket grunts that came after it. He protected his family’s flock of Pokémon, because this Charmander gave him the courage to do so._ ” Blue breathed, his eyes wide at Red as the teen smiled down at Leon. “ _When Blue got taken away, Leon and his family knew where to find him. Without them, I’d—_ ”

Blue cut himself off as Red continued.

_I’d lose one of the most important people in my life, and I would never forgive myself if I did._

“Hm?” Lance cocked his head at Blue, who shook his head. 

“The point is, this kid helped us out. A lot.” Blue said, sure now that he was _definitely_ red-faced, as he tore his gaze away from Red. Leon blinked up at Red, and the teen gave him a little smile, patting his head. “So can it, old man, we did our best.”

“Blue was in big trouble, too.” Leon said, and Lance sighed fondly, shaking his head as he patted Leon’s head, too. “Please, Mr. Lance. I’m—I’m sorry if Red and Blue are getting into trouble, it’s just—we didn’t—”

“I know.” Lance said softly, kneeling down to smile at Leon. “It’s alright. They’re not in trouble.” He peered at the two teens, grinning wryly. “Besides, I don’t expect them to listen to me, they’re both too independent to sit still and wait for orders.” 

Red gave him a knowing grin, and Blue scoffed softly, but he, too, was grinning slightly. Leon blinked up at them in awe, and Lance cocked his head at Leon.

“See?” He asked, and Leon nodded eagerly. “You take care of that Charmander, okay? And someday, I’d like to see you as a Pokémon trainer. You definitely seem the type to make it far.”

“Really?” Leon breathed, and Red and Blue shared fond smiles. 

“ _I think he’ll be a Champion someday._ ” Red signed, and Blue nodded.

“Me too.”

“Alright,” Lance got up onto his feet, and looked around the hideout. “International Police will take the investigation from here on out. Our part as the G-Men was to deal with Team Rocket, and take the Pokémon back.” Leon, Red, and Blue looked outside to see Lorelei directing people with a stern voice, and Leon heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Pokémon being treated and looked over by Pokémon Doctors outside. “We managed to gather the exotic species non-native to Galar. We’ll put them back in their respective habitats when we’re done with medical.”

“Great.” Blue nodded. “You still need me?”

“Yes.” Lance replied, “We’ll need your Pokémon expertise,” he grinned a little, “Future Professor.”

“Ah, shut up.” Blue mumbled, and he peered at Red, who was blinking at him with surprise. “What? It’s not that shocking. I’m an Oak, it’s predestined at this point.”

_I just,_ Red hesitated, and he looked down at the ground in shame. _I didn’t know._

“Well, which one of us disappeared for five years, jerk?” Blue grumbled, and Red’s expression deflated. “Traipsing around Johto with Mewtwo on your ass, or whatever.”

_Mewtwo and I have said goodbye to each other a long time ago._ Red signed, and Blue blinked at him. _I haven’t had its blessing for a while now._

“Huh?” He said dumbly, but Lance looked shocked to hear the Pokémon’s name. He looked down at Leon, and took a shaky breath.

“Mewtwo? Champion, you’ve heard of it?” He asked in Kantonian, and Blue raised an eyebrow at him, but let it slide.

“The Team Rocket grunts were talking about Red having its legendary blessing, or whatever that is.” Blue replied in Kantonian, too, and Lance frowned, humming to himself as he held his chin in thought. “Red said he doesn’t have it anymore, though.”

“Ah, so it’s gone?” Lance asked, and Red nodded. “I see. We’ll have to search for it elsewhere, then.”

“Why are you looking for it?” Blue asked, and Lance shook his head.

“Not me, Professor Oak.” He said, and Blue blinked at him. “He wanted to learn more about Mewtwo, as well. Mew is another topic of interest for him, but as of late, it seems Mewtwo is the Pokémon we have the most leads on.” Lance hummed, crossing his arms. “I didn’t know Mewtwo could grant legendary blessings.”

“What the hell even is a legendary blessing?” Blue asked, “What’s it got to do with Red?”

“We don’t particularly know. It’s different per legendary Pokémon.” Lance said, nodding at Red. “I’d ask the Champion what he experienced, but as far as we know legendary blessings come from legendary Pokémon, and grant a person some gift or power.”

Blue’s heart dropped to his gut. So that was why Team Rocket wanted him. 

Red tapped Blue’s shoulder, and the brunet looked at him.

“ _I’ll tell you later._ ” He signed, and Blue swallowed nervously, and nodded.

“We’ll talk about all this later.” Lance said, switching back to the lingua franca of the world as he gestured outside. “I have to take care of some other things. Take a break, you two.” He peered at Leon, who was blinking at them confusedly, and smiled slightly. “And give this boy back to his family.”

“ _His fence broke._ ” Red signed, and Blue nodded.

“Lance,” he said, “Some of the grunts broke down the fence around Leon’s family’s farm. Could you get a destruction of property charge with them, too?”

“I’ll talk to Looker.” Lance nodded, and he gave the two teens a little nod. “Get the boy home.”

Leon looked up at them confusedly, and Red gave him a kind smile, offering the boy his hand to take. 

“It’s okay,” Blue said. “We’ll get you home.”

Leon smiled at that, and nodded. He took Red’s hand, and made a move to take Blue’s as well, when he looked down at his Charmander friend, who had fallen asleep in his arm, cradled in his jacket. He stirred awake when Leon moved his hand, and the boy hissed softly.

“Ah, sorry…” He said, and looked back up at Blue as the Charmander snuggled close to Leon, but didn’t fall asleep again. 

“It’s okay.” Blue chuckled, “You carry that little guy out.”

“Okay.” Leon nodded, and together, the three of them strode out of the cave. 

“Please wait a minute,” an armed officer blocked their way, and Red and Blue frowned, standing protectively in front of Leon. “We’re gonna need to take that Charmander back, too. It’s non-native, so it needs to go back to Kanto.”

“No,” Leon gasped, shaking his head as he hugged it close. The Charmander seemed to understand what was going on, too, and clung onto Leon as well. “I don’t—please don’t.”

“Kid,” the officer sighed, but Red shook his head, shielding Leon and his Charmander with his arm. “Champion Red.”

“ _This boy saved our lives with this Charmander._ ” He signed, and Blue’s voice was strong and resolute as he interpreted him, matching his tone with the sure, firm way Red was signing. “ _I will not allow you to tear them apart._ That’s what he’s saying, and that’s what I’m saying, too.”

“But…” The officer said, but he stopped when Looker held his shoulder.

“We’re here to uphold the law, but we should know when to back off to do the right thing.” He said gently, and gestured at Leon and the Charmander. “Look at them. That kid’s that Charmander’s trainer now. You can’t tear them apart, it’s not right.”

The officer looked at Blue and Red, who stared back at him determinedly.

“Alright.” He sighed, shaking his head. “The PSEA’s getting passed soon, this is ridiculous…”

“They’ll worry about that when it comes.” Looker said, and patted the man’s shoulder, sending him off. “Off with you.” He gave the teens a grin, and gave Leon a kinder smile. “Sorry about that. Here, for your troubles.” 

Leon lit up when Looker took out a little bag of star-shaped candy from his pocket, depositing it in Leon’s jacket breast pocket. He patted the boy’s head, and straightened up.

“Straight from Alola. I knew carrying candy around would be good for something!” He laughed, and gave the children a nod. “Well, I’ll be off! Take care, boys!”

“Thank you!” Leon called, and the three children began to make their way back to Leon’s house. On their way back to the fork in the road to the Slumbering Weald, Blue jumped when he felt something skittering across his body. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the worm-like Pokémon skitter out of his jacket, peering at him with curious, big eyes.

“What the—hey, you—”

“Oh! A Sizzlipede!” Leon lit up, pointing at the Pokémon, and Blue pointed at it, cocking his head. “Yeah! It’s a Fire/Bug type. Trainers use it as a muffler to warm up sometimes, Ma said!” 

“Really?” Blue laughed softly, petting the Sizzlipede gently on its head, and it cooed happily, cuddling against his cheek.

“ _I think it wants to stay with you._ ” Red signed, and Blue grinned, laughing fondly as he shook his head. 

“I guess it does wanna stay.” He said, and pulled out a spare Pokéball from his pocket. Leon positively _beamed_ at the sight of the ball, and he bounced giddily on the balls of his heels. 

“Oh! Are you gonna catch it?” Leon asked eagerly, and Blue nodded, showing the Sizzlipede the Pokéball.

“Only if it wants me to.” He said, and the three of them lit up when it eagerly shot forward, pressing the lock on the Pokéball and putting itself in. The Pokéball wiggled in Blue’s hand once, twice, three times—and locked with a satisfying _click._ “Hey!” He grinned, and held up the Pokéball. “I caught a Sizzlipede!”

“Yeah!” Leon cheered, but his Charmander stayed quiet, staring up at Blue with a different kind of sparkle in his eye. “Huh? Charmander?” He asked, and he gently set the Pokémon down on the ground. It looked up at him eagerly, nodding as Leon knelt down in front of him, cocking his head. “What’s wrong?”

“ _It wants you to catch it too._ ” Blue said, smiling as he interpreted Red’s signing for Leon, and the boy looked up at them with stars in his eyes. “I gotta agree with Red here. I think Charmander wants you to take it home.”

“But I…” Leon deflated. “I’m too young to have a Pokémon of my own.”

Red smiled a little at that, and he took a Pokéball out of his pocket. He knelt down next to Leon, who blinked at him, and he took Leon’s hand. Gently, he pressed the Pokéball into Leon’s palm, and held Leon’s hand as they pointed the Pokéball at the Charmander together. 

“Huh?”

“Oh.” Blue grinned. “Red will catch it for you, then.” He said, and Leon blinked at him. “We can set it so that it’ll be registered as yours in the Pokéball after a few years.” He huffed, and thumped his chest. “Just leave it to me!”

“Blue…” Leon breathed, and looked at Red. “Red…”

Red gave him an encouraging nod, and Leon smiled, though his eyes were shining with wetness. 

“Okay!” He nodded, and they both turned to the Charmander, who grinned widely, bouncing excitedly. “I—I choose you, Charmander!”

The Charmander hurried up to him, and bumped his hand against the lock, putting himself inside. Leon’s eyes widened, his hands shaking as he held the Pokéball in his hands, and Red held his hands gently, keeping him steady as the Pokéball wiggled once, twice, three times—

“Click!” Leon gasped, as the Pokéball locked, and Red nodded at him. “We caught—we caught a Charmander!”

“Congrats!” Blue grinned at him, and Leon looked up at him delightedly. “I’ll take care of the registration tomorrow. We’ll come back for you, is that okay?”

“Yeah!” Leon nodded eagerly, and he looked down at the Pokéball happily. “My first Pokémon…”

Red patted his head, and he smiled at Blue. Blue grinned back at him, and together, they held Leon’s hands as they took him home.

* * *

Hammerlocke Castle was gorgeous at night, and the dinner—well, _banquet,_ Blue would call it—was nothing short of spectacular. Blue felt like he couldn’t move at all after that, but somehow he managed, bundling himself into a guest room prepared for him, and he went through the whole song and dance number of getting ready to bed, even slipping into the silk pyjamas the castle provided him. 

Sighing happily, Blue dropped himself into the soft, luxurious bed, and he looked up at the ceiling. 

“Wonder how Red’s doing.” He said, but then he stopped, remembering the events of that day. 

_I’d lose one of the most important people in my life, and I would never forgive myself if I did._

Blue squeezed his eyes shut, frowning deeply as the memory of Red’s hands, exposing his heart in a way that only Blue could see, in a message that Blue knew Red meant only for Blue to know. 

“Never forgive yourself?” He scoffed, draping his arm over his eyes. “The hell’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“ _I’m sorry I’d been away for so long._ ”

Red’s hands, warm and kind, rough with hard work and the constant training and travelling he did, spelled out messages Blue could read in the back of his eyelids. Even if he shut his eyes, he could still see him, he could still see the teen staring back at him with those firm, resolute eyes that held the world in them. 

“ _Don’t look away from me._ ”

Blue almost screamed when he heard knocking on his door, and he sat upright, panting heavily as he stared at the door across the four-poster bed he was sitting in. 

“Wh-who is it?” He called, and when he received no reply, his eyes widened.

Red.

“Wa-wait,” Blue stammered, and he stumbled out of bed. He hurried to the door, and threw it open to see Red blinking at him in surprise, and wearing the same set of pyjamas the castle provided Blue. “Oh.” He blinked, and Red gave him a little smile. “Red.”

“ _Blue._ ” Red signed, smiling. “ _Can I come in?_ ”

“Y-yeah,” Blue nodded before his mind could tell him no, and he stood aside, staring at the other teen as he strode into the room, looking around approvingly. “Hey, uh…”

“ _This room is the same as mine next to you._ ” Red signed, turning to look at Blue. “ _This is my first time ever sleeping in a castle._ ”

“Me too.” Blue said dazedly, and he shook his head. “Hang on. Why are you here?”

“ _You wanted to know about Mewtwo._ ” Red raised an eyebrow at him, and Blue’s expression fell. That was right—he’d promised they would talk about Mewtwo, and this legendary blessing Team Rocket seemed to be losing their minds over. Red sat down at the edge of Blue’s bed, and sighed. “ _It happened a long time ago, after I took down Team Rocket and became Champion of Kanto._ ” He signed, and Blue nodded, dropping himself down on the armchair across the bed. “ _I went looking for Mewtwo, and it came to find me._ ”

“Why’d it come looking for you?”

“ _It wanted to make a deal with me._ ” Red looked down at his lap, and Blue frowned in thought. “ _At first, it wanted me to end Team Rocket. Pull them out of the ground like weeds in a garden._ ”

Blue’s eyes widened, and Red gave him a wry grin.

“ _Mewtwo’s words, not mine._ ” He shook his head, and Blue heaved a sigh of relief. “ _I asked it why it wanted me to take Team Rocket down, and it told me…_ ” Red looked down at his lap, and sighed. “ _It was angry. That it wanted revenge._ ”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Blue mumbled, scowling. “I heard about it—about how Team Rocket made it artificially.”

Red nodded. “ _It wasn’t just Mewtwo. There were other Pokémon being cloned. Experimented on. Mewtwo was furious at Team Rocket, and wanted me to destroy them._ ”

He shut his eyes, and Blue gaped at him.

“ _For a long time, it worked._ ” Red continued, “ _I wanted to grow stronger, and Mewtwo’s blessing helped me find them. The suffering Pokémon. The Team Rocket bases. I set free so many Pokémon. Defeated so many grunts. Seen… things._ ”

The teen took a shuddering breath, and Blue’s own breath got caught in his throat. Without thinking, he got up from his seat and sat down next to Red, holding his hand. Red stopped, looking at Blue with wide eyes, and Blue was taken back to their childhood—much younger than when they first began their journey. 

Two little boys, shaded under giant taro leaves in the middle of the pouring summer rain in Pallet Town, holding hands as they giggled together about a secret little encounter with a little pink Pokémon neither of them remembered. Red lifted his and Blue’s hands, and the brunet blinked at him.

“ _I can’t talk if you hold my hand like that._ ” Red signed with some difficulty, grinning slightly, and Blue jumped, stealing his hand away. “ _Thanks._ ”

Blue grinned nervously when Red’s gaze softened on him, but the mute teen was quick to sober up. 

“ _It wasn’t just Pokémon. It was people, too._ ” Red shut his eyes. “ _When Mewtwo found out, it wanted to stop._ ”

“What?” Blue blinked. “Wait—now that it learned _humans_ are getting hurt, too, it suddenly doesn’t give a damn?”

Red shook his head no, and Blue cocked his head at him exasperatedly. 

“ _It needed some time to think._ ” Red said. “ _Reevaluate humanity. I said I wanted to part ways because my journey was almost over._ ”

He looked up at the ceiling, sighing fondly, and he dropped himself down onto Blue’s bed. 

“ _I battled the new champion in Johto, the one who refused the duty because they were too young, and left it to Lance._ ” He signed, “ _And I learned about their journey. About the friends they’d made along the way, and I realised that I’d been missing something._ ”

Red took Blue’s hand, and squeezed it gently. 

Blue blinked at him, wide-eyed, and Red laughed sheepishly, looking away as he let Blue go.

“ _I missed you._ ” He signed. “ _So I came back. Before you left, and I would never see you again._ ”

Blue felt his heart _soar._

“How did you know?” He asked quietly, and Red blinked at him. “I—after I graduate, I’m… I’m going to Sinnoh. To keep studying. And then… Kalos, after. Gramps is helping me figure things out, but that’s what I’m going fo— _mmph!_ ”

Red pulled him close, and mashed their lips together. The two teens ended up bumping their foreheads together, and the both of them jolted apart, wincing in pain as they held their foreheads.

“What the _hell_ was that?” Blue couldn’t help but burst out laughing when he saw Red’s face turn the colour of a Tamato berry. “You call that a _kiss?_ ” He smirked at Red, who began to stammer silently, clearly flustered, when Blue cupped his face in his hands, making him freeze. “Here’s how to do it, you dumbass.” Blue said warmly, and leaned in to kiss him properly.

Red sat there stiffly as Blue laughed against his mouth, and they pulled apart, sharing twin smiles that were so bittersweetly familiar, like that one summer day when Red and Blue were caught outside in the rain, hiding under taro leaves, and holding hands, giggling about a precious little secret together. 

“ _I like you._ ” Red signed, and Blue grinned.

“Yeah? I figured?” He said, and signed back, “ _I love you too._ ”

Red’s eyes lit up with constellations in them, and Blue couldn’t help but laugh again, contentment warm and comfortable in the bottom of his gut as he leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together.

“We’re so stupid, aren’t we?” Blue laughed, and Red huffed. “I figured it out just now. Earlier, in the cave when you saved me.” 

Red smiled at that, and Blue rolled his eyes, pulling away from him, though neither of them were willing to let go of each other. 

“Tomorrow, we’re helping Leon out when we go see the Team Rocket grunts that were arrested.” Blue said, and Red nodded. “And then, after that, we’re going to the Pokémon Centre to get the registration set up.”

Red let his hand go.

“ _We’re like a married couple._ ” He signed, and Blue spluttered, grabbing his hands to hold them firmly, and Red laughed silently.

“That’s it! I’m holding your hands all the time to keep you from signing embarrassing shit!” He huffed, and Red raised an eyebrow at him, grinning slightly. “Wait.”

Red let him go, and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“ _All according to plan._ ” He grinned, and Blue growled in flustered frustration, grabbing his hands again. Red laughed at that again, and they devolved into wrestling, dissolving into laughter. They collapsed into bed, grinning at each other, and Red sighed happily as Blue rolled over onto his back.

“This is nice.” He said, and Red nodded. “Like… all those years… finally resolved.”

Red nodded again, and held his hand. Blue smiled, and squeezed his hand back.

“When I get back from Kalos, Red, I…” Blue hesitated, and laughed softly. “Let’s just stay with each other, always.”

Red’s gaze on him was heartachingly soft, and Blue couldn’t stop smiling as Red let him go.

“ _That sounds like a proposal._ ” He signed.

“It might be, yeah.” Blue replied breathlessly. “We’ll… we’ll see in a few years, after Kalos.”

“ _I’ve waited for longer._ ” Red smiled, and Blue couldn’t help but mirror his smile, nodding. “ _I’ll always wait._ ”

* * *

“Extra small!” Blue grinned, nodding as he looked at Leon holding his Charmander friend, staring up in awe at him as Blue, Red, and Leon crowded together at a PC. The Pokéball that held the Charmander was on a port on the PC, and Blue hummed as he looked over the Charmander’s stats. “He knows Dragon Tail, and that’s an egg move. You’ve got a pretty special Charmander there, Leon.”

“Really?” Leon breathed, and Red nodded, patting his head fondly. Leon beamed up at him, and Red smiled back at him.

“So, what do you wanna nickname the little guy?” Blue asked, and Leon looked down at his Charmander friend, who nodded determinedly. “How about… something like, I dunno, Blaze? That’s pretty cool—”

“Red!” Leon chirped, and Blue jumped as he gaped at the little boy. “I’m gonna name him Red!” He looked up at the teen holding his hand, and Red laughed fondly, his cheeks turning pink. “And someday, we’re gonna become champions, too!” 

“Well.” Blue cocked his head, huffing fondly as he registered the Charmander’s new nickname. “We’ll hold you to that, got it?” He asked, and Leon nodded eagerly. 

“I promise!”

* * *

The echoing, thunderous sound of the crowd was thrilling. His blood was still ablaze, lit on fire with adrenaline and shock as Galar came to life around him, fireworks setting off in the sky marking the beginning of his life with a glorious, technicolour blaze.

Leon grinned, and met his Charizard’s gaze as they stood together in the middle of the pitch.

“Red, we made it.” He panted, and Red nodded, holding Leon’s hand and squeezing it gently. “We—we kept our promise!”

His Charizard roared delightedly, and Leon laughed brightly as golden confetti rained down on him like a shower of glory.

_“And now, ladies and gentlemen, meet your new Champion of Galar, Leon!”_

**Author's Note:**

> so blue's pidgeot is named squall because he's a goddamn edgelord at 13, bless his heart


End file.
